Promoting Implant Longevity With Antimicrobial Coating

Promoting Implant Longevity With Antimicrobial Coating

While implant therapy enjoys a high success rate, the risk of failure—most often due to peri-implant diseases—remains. For this reason, researchers from the University of Leeds School of Dentistry are researching a long-term solution to ensure implant longevity. The solution, they propose, is a coating designed to protect against infection and resultant bone loss through a process called hydrothermal synthesis. Enter the long-trusted, time-tested dental autoclave. 

Hydrothermal synthesis is a technique that relies on the growth of materials from water-based solutions at elevated temperatures and high pressures—and in one short step. The autoclave is the conduit to achieving this. Researchers used hydrothermal synthesis first to create hydroxyapatite crystals—chosen for their biocompatibility and chemical similarities to human bone—which were used in the coating to encourage bonding with the bone. Hydroxyapatite, however, demonstrated a risk of dissolution and debonding, which may negatively affect the long-term viability of implants. For this reason, researchers turned to fluorapatite, which is similar in nature but demonstrates higher predictability of stability.

The researchers continued to experiment with fluorapatite and soon determined that hydrothermal synthesis for 10 hours was the ideal time for creating fluorapatite crystals. These crystals demonstrated enhanced bone regeneration and stem cell differentiation. Furthermore, researchers found that the coating not only promoted bone regeneration, but also offered antimicrobial properties. The role of fluorapatite is under additional investigation to determine the reproducibility and coherence of the coating on dental implant substrates.

Using hydrothermal synthesis by way of autoclave for such implant coatings, the researchers concluded, may remove many timely steps in the traditional fluorapatite crystal formation process and, as a result, dramatically reduce associated costs.

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

August 2016